Organisation profile

Sustainability has many facets. Inter- and transdisciplinary research and teaching characterize the School of Sustainability. Scientists in our research projects work together in the laboratory, on the heath, in the grassland, in the classroom, with the city administration, with farmers, with non-governmental organizations, with companies, with students in the lecture hall and of course at their desks.

Furthermore, we work with regional and national political actors, e.g. ministries, as well as international organizations, e.g. UNEP, UNESCO, EU. We are part of national and international bodies, e.g. sustainability advisory boards of companies, member of the German Sustainability Award, World Biodiversity Council (IPBES), in order to contribute to social change with scientific findings.

Main research areas

Vision
Sustainability science investigates on a theoretical, conceptual and empirical level how to promote sustainable development and how to find and implement effective solutions for current social and ecological challenges. The aim is to create a more sustainable future.

Sustainability researchers are called upon to take responsibility for their research, which is anchored in existing scientific knowledge and methods and serves to make the world a better place for everyone.

Mission
We promote change towards a sustainable future by developing theories, concepts and practices of inclusive education for sustainability, research, governance and management.

We acknowledge the diversity and dynamics of values, norms and behaviour and contribute with transdisciplinary methods to ensuring that tensions and differences between different disciplines, methods, topics and standards are fruitfully taken up and used with productive compromises and further developments towards sustainable development.

Principles
The School of Sustainability is guided by the normative concepts of ecological system integrity and social and economic justice.

Ecological system integrity refers to the safeguarding of life-support systems, as well as the maintenance of the well-being of life on Earth.

With social and economic justice we strive for a world in which all people can fulfil their potential without endangering system integrity and the well-being of others.

Information about the School
The School of Sustainability includes...
... ca. 25 professors
... ca. 100 research assistants
... ca. 1000 students in Bachelor and Master courses

In various inter- and transdisciplinary projects we are constantly researching and working together on changes and solutions for current challenges.

  1. Published

    Blue-green light is required for a maximized fatty acid unsaturation and pigment concentration in the microalga Acutodesmus obliquus

    Helamieh, M., Reich, M., Bory, S., Rohne, P., Riebesell, U., Kerner, M. & Kümmerer, K., 01.07.2022, In: Lipids. 57, 4-5, p. 221-232 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Conflict strength: Measuring the tension between cooperative and competitive incentives in experimental negotiation tasks

    Majer, J., Schweinsberg, M., Zhang, H. & Trötschel, R., 06.05.2022, In: Collabra: Psychology. 8, 1, 17 p., 35330.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Pitfalls and potential of institutional change: Rain-index insurance and the sustainability of rangeland management

    Müller, B., Quaas, M. F., Frank, K. & Baumgärtner, S., 15.09.2011, In: Ecological Economics. 70, 11, p. 2137-2144 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    The Immunisation against COVID-19 as a Global Public Good

    Bäumler, J. & Sarno, J., 01.01.2022, In: Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht . 82, 1, p. 159-193 35 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    From Claiming to Creating Value: The Psychology of Negotiations on Common Resource Dilemmas

    Trötschel, R., Treek, M., Heydenbluth, C., Zhang, K. & Majer, J. M., 01.05.2022, In: Sustainability. 14, 9, 26 p., 5257.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    How to estimate carabid biomass?—an evaluation of size-weight models for ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and perspectives for further improvement

    Weiss, F. & Linde, A., 01.08.2022, In: Journal of Insect Conservation. 26, 4, p. 537-548 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Land-use change differentially affects endemic, forest andopen-land butterflies in Madagascar

    Wurz, A., Grass, I., Lees, D. C., Rakotomalala, A. A. N. A., Sáfián, S., Martin, D. A., Osen, K., Loos, J., Benasoavina, E., Alexis, T. & Tscharntke, T., 01.09.2022, In: Insect Conservation and Diversity. 15, 5, p. 606-620 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Conservation value of semi-open habitats for ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Cicindelidae) in Central Europe

    Boutaud, E., Nolte, D., Harry, I., Aßmann, T. & Drees, C., 01.05.2022, In: Biodiversity and Conservation. 31, 5-6, p. 1469-1489 21 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Managing entrepreneurial and corporate contributions to sustainability transitions

    Schaltegger, S., Loorbach, D. & Hörisch, J., 02.2023, In: Business Strategy and the Environment. 32, 2, p. 891-902 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsOther (editorial matter etc.)Research

  10. Published

    Neanderthals in changing environments from MIS 5 to early MIS 4 in northern Central Europe – Integrating archaeological, (chrono)stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental evidence at the site of Lichtenberg

    Weiss, M., Hein, M., Urban, B., Stahlschmidt, M. C., Heinrich, S., Hilbert, Y. H., Power, R. C., von Suchodoletz, H., Terberger, T., Böhner, U., Klimscha, F., Veil, S., Breest, K., Schmidt, J., Colarossi, D., Tucci, M., Frechen, M., Tanner, D. C. & Lauer, T., 15.05.2022, In: Quaternary Science Reviews. 284, 107519.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review